File changed listener in Java

Solution 1:

I've written a log file monitor before, and I found that the impact on system performance of polling the attributes of a single file, a few times a second, is actually very small.

Java 7, as part of NIO.2 has added the WatchService API

The WatchService API is designed for applications that need to be notified about file change events.

Solution 2:

I use the VFS API from Apache Commons, here is an example of how to monitor a file without much impact in performance:

DefaultFileMonitor

Solution 3:

There is a lib called jnotify that wraps inotify on linux and has also support for windows. Never used it and I don't know how good it is, but it's worth a try I'd say.

Solution 4:

Since JDK 1.7, the canonical way to have an application be notified of changes to a file is using the WatchService API. The WatchService is event-driven. The official tutorial provides an example:

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import java.nio.file.*;
import static java.nio.file.StandardWatchEventKinds.*;
import static java.nio.file.LinkOption.*;
import java.nio.file.attribute.*;
import java.io.*;
import java.util.*;

/**
 * Example to watch a directory (or tree) for changes to files.
 */

public class WatchDir {

    private final WatchService watcher;
    private final Map<WatchKey,Path> keys;
    private final boolean recursive;
    private boolean trace = false;

    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
    static <T> WatchEvent<T> cast(WatchEvent<?> event) {
        return (WatchEvent<T>)event;
    }

    /**
     * Register the given directory with the WatchService
     */
    private void register(Path dir) throws IOException {
        WatchKey key = dir.register(watcher, ENTRY_CREATE, ENTRY_DELETE, ENTRY_MODIFY);
        if (trace) {
            Path prev = keys.get(key);
            if (prev == null) {
                System.out.format("register: %s\n", dir);
            } else {
                if (!dir.equals(prev)) {
                    System.out.format("update: %s -> %s\n", prev, dir);
                }
            }
        }
        keys.put(key, dir);
    }

    /**
     * Register the given directory, and all its sub-directories, with the
     * WatchService.
     */
    private void registerAll(final Path start) throws IOException {
        // register directory and sub-directories
        Files.walkFileTree(start, new SimpleFileVisitor<Path>() {
            @Override
            public FileVisitResult preVisitDirectory(Path dir, BasicFileAttributes attrs)
                throws IOException
            {
                register(dir);
                return FileVisitResult.CONTINUE;
            }
        });
    }

    /**
     * Creates a WatchService and registers the given directory
     */
    WatchDir(Path dir, boolean recursive) throws IOException {
        this.watcher = FileSystems.getDefault().newWatchService();
        this.keys = new HashMap<WatchKey,Path>();
        this.recursive = recursive;

        if (recursive) {
            System.out.format("Scanning %s ...\n", dir);
            registerAll(dir);
            System.out.println("Done.");
        } else {
            register(dir);
        }

        // enable trace after initial registration
        this.trace = true;
    }

    /**
     * Process all events for keys queued to the watcher
     */
    void processEvents() {
        for (;;) {

            // wait for key to be signalled
            WatchKey key;
            try {
                key = watcher.take();
            } catch (InterruptedException x) {
                return;
            }

            Path dir = keys.get(key);
            if (dir == null) {
                System.err.println("WatchKey not recognized!!");
                continue;
            }

            for (WatchEvent<?> event: key.pollEvents()) {
                WatchEvent.Kind kind = event.kind();

                // TBD - provide example of how OVERFLOW event is handled
                if (kind == OVERFLOW) {
                    continue;
                }

                // Context for directory entry event is the file name of entry
                WatchEvent<Path> ev = cast(event);
                Path name = ev.context();
                Path child = dir.resolve(name);

                // print out event
                System.out.format("%s: %s\n", event.kind().name(), child);

                // if directory is created, and watching recursively, then
                // register it and its sub-directories
                if (recursive && (kind == ENTRY_CREATE)) {
                    try {
                        if (Files.isDirectory(child, NOFOLLOW_LINKS)) {
                            registerAll(child);
                        }
                    } catch (IOException x) {
                        // ignore to keep sample readbale
                    }
                }
            }

            // reset key and remove from set if directory no longer accessible
            boolean valid = key.reset();
            if (!valid) {
                keys.remove(key);

                // all directories are inaccessible
                if (keys.isEmpty()) {
                    break;
                }
            }
        }
    }

    static void usage() {
        System.err.println("usage: java WatchDir [-r] dir");
        System.exit(-1);
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        // parse arguments
        if (args.length == 0 || args.length > 2)
            usage();
        boolean recursive = false;
        int dirArg = 0;
        if (args[0].equals("-r")) {
            if (args.length < 2)
                usage();
            recursive = true;
            dirArg++;
        }

        // register directory and process its events
        Path dir = Paths.get(args[dirArg]);
        new WatchDir(dir, recursive).processEvents();
    }
}

For individual files, various solutions exist, such as:

• https://dzone.com/articles/listening-to-fileevents-with-java-nio

Note that Apache VFS uses a polling algorithm, although it may offer greater functionality. Also note that the API does not offer a way to determine whether a file has been closed.